Interview: Alejo Lombardi
The responsibility and reward felt from branding someone’s body with something they, hopefully, will treasure for life is unparalleled.
Tattoo artists all have their own reasons for choosing their occupation and it can be surprising how serious and passionate they are about it.
Alejo Lombardi, originally from Argentina, works in Sacred Art, an east London tattoo shop. At 27 years old, he has been tattooing as a profession for about seven years, and is now in his second year of a sculpture degree at Camberwell.
His parents hated tattoos and none of his older siblings had them, but he explains that his inspiration and love of tattooing is down to the admiration felt for his sisters’ boyfriends, two of whom were tattoo artists and one who was heavily covered in tattoos.
An asset
The sculpture degree does not directly relate to tattooing, but fine art is something which Lombardi considers an asset.
"I think it is positive in terms of having a more critical point of view.”
Despite continuing from the foundation degree to the sculpture degree, there is no doubt in his mind that tattooing is primarily what he wants to do: “That’s not something that is going to change. I don’t think so. Not for a long time.”
When asked what it is he enjoys most about the art of tattooing his reply is simple: “I enjoy the technique and also the medium.
"You are working on someone else’s body - that is absolutely different from anything you can do. It’s not only about what you are tattooing.”
Despite having been a tattoo artist for many years, Lombardi still gets nervous when doing a job. Explaining that no matter how skilled you get, being aware of the responsibility you have in that role is always intimidating. He likens it to the feeling clients get when they are about to receive a tattoo: “When you are on the other side it’s about the pain.
"When people say ‘Oh you must be used to it’.
"How can you get used to it? You can’t.”
Giving a chance
The amount of care and attention employed by Lombardi and the rest of Sacred Art’s staff is encouraging: “We give the customers a chance, not forcing them, but to think about what they are going for and to do more research and to really think about what they want.
"We give them a chance to base it on things that already exist but make it a bit more personal. Individuals are unique and tattoos should be unique as well.”
He goes on to say: “There are trends with tattoos, as in anything, and many tattooists are pushing customers into getting this thing instead of that.
"It’s like being a surgeon, if you push a woman to get massive boobs because you think it’s cool.
"But it shouldn’t really be like that. It’s not ethical.
"It comes to be a lot about trust.
"It’s someone else’s body, it’s not your body.
"Whether you like something or not, it is a responsibility.”
Lombardi explains that for many people it is not purely about the tattoo, but about the experience – meeting the person who is going to “mark you for life”, discussing the application of the tattoo, the healing process – and this experience can last until they next walk into the shop for another one.
“I didn’t have the chance back in my country to tattoo loads of black people. Here, sometimes, for people with really, really dark skin, I was questioning why they would get tattoos if you can’t even see them? And then I understood. They want to be part of it and they want to have the whole experience.
"It’s not only about how it looks.”
More accessible
According to him, and probably many others, though the tattoo has been around forever and it has now become more accessible.
“The good thing about it is that people have more acceptance about it. At the same time it becomes less special. Many of the reasons I got my tattoos is because I wanted that thing of people going ‘Oh shit, that’s disgusting’, but it’s pretty much the other way round.
"People are like ‘Oh cool, you’ve got tattoos!’ and that’s sometimes more annoying.”
He considers tattoos more middle class now. In the past they belonged to the upper and lower classes. For the former it was exotic and for the latter, it was that they could not lose.
“The middle class phenomenon is probably only the last 20 years or so. Being from a South American middle class background, the reasons why I have tattoos is because I belong to only the last two or three decades.”
He also explains that to have tattoos boldly on public display is a very western thing, whereas in eastern countries people cover them.
“It’s cultural. How you want them to be on show. In eastern countries you get people that have a whole body suit, but not their neck or hands.
"It’s something private. Sometimes they are crime related but that’s not the original background.”
On regrets he, who is a heavily illustrated gentleman himself, confesses: “I do regret all my tattoos at least once.
"But they are evidence of who you were and who you are. You can say, ‘Hey, eight years ago I was that, and nine years ago I was that’ and so on. It’s not about the tattoos, it’s about yourself.
"Even though I’m not too happy with some of them, I’m not too sure about covering them up or lasering them.
"I think I would probably actually regret that.”
http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20100218-body-art-interview-alejo-lomardi-tattooist
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